20 Wins! State Advances in NIT (Updated Sat 4:30pm)

“The atmosphere in Reynolds hasn’t lost anything.”

ACCNow Blog Entry

NC State’s Red Coat Revival continued on a night where Reynolds Coliseum was rocking, and the officiating was even more unstable as the ‘not-good-enough-for-the-Big-Dance’ zebras lost control of the game in the in the second half. In a season where NC State didn’t have a player called for a single technical foul, the YMCA referees from Hillsborough Street deemed it necessary to call two technicals on NC State players in the same game?!

NC State’s 11th NIT Appearance is shaping up to be a good one. The Wolfpack controlled 80% of Friday night’s game and led the last 32 minutes and 12 seconds to defeat Marist 69-62.

The win was particularly satisfying to many old-school Wolfpackers who found it hard to swallow that NC State lost its last meaningful game in the Old Barn when Herb Sendek’s 1999 Wolfpack fell victim to Princeton in the NIT. As opposed to the last NIT game played in Reynolds, tonight’s match-up only had one team on the floor who thought that the role of center is to float around the three-point line. Tonight’s win now means that program may have won its last meaningful game in the building.

Fans who tried to watch the game on ESPNU were met with quite a surprise when ESPNU chose to stick with Live coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Ultimately, the channel switched to the game 25 minutes late (9:55) and with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half. It is hard to understand how/why ESPN had the right/power to dictate the day and starting time of our game if they weren’t going to actually televise it!

State now advances to the NIT Quarterfinals where to play West Virginia for the second time time this season. In early December, West Virginia defeated State 71-60 in one of the Wolfpack’s first games without Engin Atsur. The rematch of the Wolfpack and Mountaineers will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and will be televised on ESPN (if it Tuesday) or ESPN2 (if Wednesday).

Some quick numbers to absorb:

* Sidney Lowe’s postseason record improves 5-1.

* The Red Blazer’s record improves to 5-1-1.

* NC State wins twenty games for the year.

* Sidney Lowe becomes the fourth NC State coach to record 20 wins in his first season. The previous ones were Les Robinson, Press Maravich, and Everett Case.

* NC State has appeared in six consecutive postseasons.

* With the win, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2007 postseason record improves to an impressive 10-2. In addition to the NCAA Tournament games, Florida State defeated the Big Ten’s Michigan earlier in the day to also advance to the NIT quarterfinals.

The last two comments left by our readers in this previous entry are very relevant to my comments. One comment is a review of the December’s State-WVU game and the other is an eye-witness account of Reynolds tonight.

I just got back from Reynolds. What a game. We all got to see the players up close and personal in the tight, small gym. The noise meter was not there, and neither did they turn off the lights prior to our introduction. But I passed these off as relating to the last-minuteness of all the preparations…

…I got my tix scalped, it was a bunch, and it was worth it ; } just a fun, fun environment. it seemed like the players decided to cheer us for supporting them when the game was over, seemed like a pleasant mutual gesture, us applauding them, and the players applauding their base.

You can click here for a link to some pictures taken of the evening.

Updated for Good Press:

* CBS Sportsline says that State is continues an “Exhasuting Run”

There’s still some magic left in Sidney Lowe’s red jacket — and in North Carolina State’s creaky Reynolds Coliseum.

Ben McCauley scored 19 points and the Wolfpack continued their exhausting, exhilarating postseason run with a 69-62 victory over Marist on Friday night in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Dennis Horner and Gavin Grant added 13 points apiece for N.C. State (20-15), which played its sixth game in nine days and improved to 5-1 in that span.

The weary Wolfpack fed off a raucous sellout crowd in a rare game at Reynolds, their venerable former home where a generation ago Lowe played point guard on the Jim Valvano-led team that won the 1983 national title.

* S6 always has the statstical recap.

Dennis Horner didn’t miss a shot, be it from the field or the line, and scored 13 points in 15 minutes–34.7 pts/40 minutes. Now that’s some scoring punch off the bench.

* The N&O’s Blog is all over One More Win in the Old Barn.

* The N&O’s newspaper also focused on the Wolfpack fans “Rocking Reynolds”

When N.C. State’s players padded onto the Reynolds Coliseum court Friday night for warm-ups, thousands of red-clad Wolfpack fans rose and gave them a standing ovation.

Coach Sidney Lowe appeared later — in his red coat — and received a roaring standup cheer from the capacity crowd of 8,400. This was a resounding tribute to a resilient, underdog team that turned February frustration into a few festive days in March.

Reynolds

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06-07 Basketball General

74 Responses to 20 Wins! State Advances in NIT (Updated Sat 4:30pm)

  1. sf59 03/16/2007 at 11:54 PM #

    the refs were cpmplete poop for both teamd. D-horn has improved tremendously this year. He has a great stroke and will be awesome with some added strength.

  2. highstick 03/17/2007 at 12:02 AM #

    I love that picture of Reynolds! Makes me feel at home!

    I really hope that is not the last game there than means something. Maybe the Canes will play hockey year round and buy us out so we can rebuild on campus. Wishful thinking, anyway!

  3. one00_proof 03/17/2007 at 12:08 AM #

    As bad as the refs were, my experience at reynolds was incredible to say the least. My ears were going numb during the opening introductions and mccauley’s reverse dunk at the other end made the place literally erupt. IMO though, during the foul shots after the Technicals to Horner and Costner were the most deafening moments of the night. I was in the student section clapping my hands till i had blisters, screaming till i was hoarse, and stomping the ground till my feet burned. It was like a workout tonight, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a state game in my college career.

    The best part as said earlier was when all the players applauded at the center of the court which I thought was great, especially for Atsur, who deserved it more than anyone that night. The fire, the passion, and some good old fashion heckling were all there tonight. You woulda never known it was an NIT game by the atmosphere.

    Also props to Horner, the kid is coming along nicely and might be moving up faster on the depth charts than most were predicting. And with that, onward, to the after party!

  4. beowolf 03/17/2007 at 12:09 AM #

    As opposed to the last NIT game played in Reynolds, tonight’s match-up only had one team on the floor who thought that the role of center is to float around the three-point line.

  5. StateFans 03/17/2007 at 12:13 AM #

    It is nice to know that somebody actually reads this stuff

    🙂

  6. WAWolf 03/17/2007 at 12:20 AM #

    who would have thot that our season would last longer than duke’s?

  7. msmzyk 03/17/2007 at 12:24 AM #

    If we hadn’t won the game, there would have been a riot against the refs. The game was terribly officiated – or at least seemed to be. Did any one else notice that after the refs spoke to the Marist coach all of the sudden they stopped fouling with about 43 or so seconds left? That was about the time the refs finally decided they would start calling intentional fouls. It was obvious the Marist coach was just using all of his bench with instructions to foul, foul, and foul. The stretch from 2:00 to 1:43 felt like it tock 20 minutes. It was absurd. At one point even Sid almost lost it – the ball had been knocked out of bounds right at the end of the game, and the refs gave it to Marist – the ball rolled by Sid and he almost kicked the ball – had he made contact, that ball would have left the arena. I want to have respect for Marist, I do, but after a game like that, I can’t. Every one was infuriated by the end of the game, and the team probably didn’t get the send off they truly deserved because of it. I’m still angry over the officiating. However, congrats to the team on the win. It seemed at times that everything was stacked against the team, but they still won. For that, I’m proud. I’m proud to say I was at Reynolds tonight.

  8. Dan 03/17/2007 at 12:26 AM #

    These extra games are doing wonders for the confidence of Dennis Horner.

    One more game, a tough one, and maybe Sid can make the recruiting rounds in NYC.

  9. justaguy 03/17/2007 at 12:27 AM #

    The pack has won 5 games in 9 days. You only need to go back to March 8th to find the last 5 pack wins. What about those other teams the pack beat in the ACCT. How far back do you have to look to find their last five wins?

    VaTech – Feb. 13
    UVA – Feb 13
    Duke – Jan 28

    WVA will be the 7th tournament game in march for the pack. You can’t buy experience like that, you have to earn it. Congrats to the players and coaches.

  10. CarnifeX 03/17/2007 at 12:28 AM #

    Wow. So, I think I have a little bit more of the understanding of the Reynolds that all you ‘ole-timers’ talk about. It was electric in there; really fun.

    However, I can’t help but wonder how Sid felt about his return to Reynolds. I was a little dissapointed in the fact that the loudest that the place got was while ‘boo-ing’ or possibly the ‘ref-u-suck’ chant. While I wholeheartedly agree that the refs did indeed suck; I feel that we could have represented Reynolds/Wolfpack/Sid/NCSU/whatever a little better.

    I think the ‘ref-u-suck’ chants got to him (it seemed it was the one ref making the majority of the calls) because he called a foul on every play following.

  11. msmzyk 03/17/2007 at 12:33 AM #

    This is great:

    “They shoot the 3-pointer like it’s going out of style,” McCauley said.

  12. beowolf 03/17/2007 at 12:34 AM #

    Carnife, replace “ref-you-suck” with “sit-down-Dean” and you will approximate another favorite Reynolds experience.

  13. Dan 03/17/2007 at 12:34 AM #

    ^ You are not a jedi yet Carnife….

    Reynolds was always a hostile place. “Ref-you-suck” is a Reynolds staple.

    As was “Hey, (insert player name) you suck”, “we are going to beat the hell out of you”, and many other fun things.

    I feel sorry for the kids who never got to sit behind an opposing bench in Reynolds. So much fun.

  14. justaguy 03/17/2007 at 12:38 AM #

    Reynolds doesn’t lend itself to TV. There was bothersome glare off the floor on the middle 2/3 of the court.

  15. beowolf 03/17/2007 at 12:40 AM #

    The pick-one-guy-on-the-opposing-team-to-cheer-for stuff was priceless too. Some guys would get totally rattled. As soon as they’d catch the pass, the crowd’d go aaaAAAAH!!! and the poor guy’d wind up dribbling it off his foot.

    One of my favorite moments in Reynolds was when some opposing player got tired of being harassed, and he made the mistake of looking directly at one of the students jeering him. The student, bless him, bugged his eyes out at the guy, pointed to his brain, and said “I’M IN YOUR HEAD!”

    Dude was totally worthless after that.

  16. beowolf 03/17/2007 at 12:41 AM #

    justaguy, there wasn’t a glare on the foam floor!

  17. NCSUbarman 03/17/2007 at 12:44 AM #

    Man, it felt so good to be back in Reynolds again(I got goosebumps). If that one ref could have taken the whistle out of his mouth it would have been a 20 point win easy. he got his though, old school style. “REF, YOU SUCK!” Oh man, I miss it

  18. Tau837 03/17/2007 at 12:48 AM #

    I’m expecting a win against West Virginia. I hope they think they know our team from that game on 12/6.

  19. BJD95 03/17/2007 at 1:04 AM #

    The old school cheers were great. We stood the whole damned game. It was minimalist and somewhat surreal – from the blast furnace-like temperatures, to the inaudible PA system, to the antiquated graphics on the scoreboard. But like an old sweatshirt, it just felt right.

    One of my pet peeves from ESA games this year was that nobody said “Go to hell, Carolina” anymore. Participation was upwards of 80% tonight. We are definitely less passive, less polite, more rowdy and more vulgar in Reynolds. I loved it!

    I thought the refs played “dueling makeup calls” all night. It’s like they realized that the call they just made was crap, so the other team got the benefit of an even worse call next time down.

    Mild-mannered Dennis Horner gets T’d up? WTF? Sid pretty clearly (if not directly) criticized the refs in his post-game comments. Horner should always be in the game late when we are protecting a lead. He doesn’t do anything stupid with the ball, and his FT stroke is as good as any I’ve ever seen. His confidence is going through the roof. Kid can play.

  20. NCSUbarman 03/17/2007 at 1:21 AM #

    Just got goosebumps again, for me this goes back to Jimmy V’s B-Ball camp every year as a kid(im old, not as old as some of you facks though=). Just takin a piss at the south end again with “men” sign scribbled on by marker. Oh shit, I love it. Im going to the WVU game, I love this team!

  21. nsj 03/17/2007 at 1:41 AM #

    Visiting as we are in the land of ESPNUnheard-of-and-therefore-unavailable, my wife and I had to catch the game at the local BW3. Reynolds looked great, red, and loud.

    I kept thinking to myself how cool it was that Coach Lowe and company were able to introduce another generation of Wolfpack players and fans to meaningful basketball at Reynolds Coliseum — and on the court named after another Wolfpack legend. Those who have never experienced a game there simply cannot know what it is like until they see it first hand in this kind of situation. I’m thrilled for everyone who got to go!

    What a great ride for both the men’s and women’s teams and staffs. Congrats to all — and keep it up! Go State!

  22. foz 03/17/2007 at 1:50 AM #

    At the local sports bar -wtf – wrestling on??? couldn’t hear alt of the game, but saw the techs and was dismayed. Asked my UNX friend did he think mari St. was playing rough? he agreed.

    btw, he also told me he has great REPECT for SL and is not looking foward to next year.

    That’s what we want!

  23. xphoenix87 03/17/2007 at 2:56 AM #

    I was lucky enough to be able to sit on the floor right behind the State bench for the game, and it was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had at a basketball game. Having been a devout fan of the women’s team for most of my life, I’m used to watching games in Reynolds, but it hasn’t been that packed and full of energy in a long time. Just a lot of fun.

    I felt like I had to reply to msmzyk’s post, cause it irritated me a bit. Don’t blame Marist for the incompetence of the officials. I gained a lot of respect for Marist watching them in that stretch run. It was an excellent job of coaching and execution to keep them in that game and maintain a chance to win to the very end. Sure, it was painful to watch and it made the last 3 minutes take forever, but it was the only way they had a chance. If State weren’t such a good free-throw shooting team, this would’ve been a very close call (UNC used the same strategy in their first loss to VaTech, and nearly came back after training by 20+). I have all the respect in the world for Marist and for Jared Jordan after watching that.

  24. class of 74 03/17/2007 at 5:17 AM #

    Nothing like a good old gym, a red jacket and a spirited crowd to revive a good old program. Reynolds is and always should be a shrine to our program, our school, our memories and this conference. I could not be happier for those who got to experience for the first time what many of us have seen and loved for years.

  25. Pack92 03/17/2007 at 7:54 AM #

    My last men’s game in Reynolds was the NIT loss to WVU back in the mid-90’s. I suspect I will ALWAYS regret not being at the game last night. This team is really something special and them being back in Reynolds was like one of those “2 destinies coming together” things. There probably is an actual term for it but anyone who was there last night knows EXACTLY what I mean!
    ^Class of 74, could not agree more.

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